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reptile - 6 dictionary results
rep⋅tile
[rep-til, -tahyl] 
–noun
| 1. | any cold-blooded vertebrate of the class Reptilia, comprising the turtles, snakes, lizards, crocodilians, amphisbaenians, tuatara, and various extinct members including the dinosaurs. |
| 2. | (loosely) any of various animals that crawl or creep. |
| 3. | a groveling, mean, or despicable person. |
–adjective
| 4. | of or resembling a reptile; creeping or crawling. |
| 5. | groveling, mean, or despicable. |
Origin:
1350–1400; ME reptil < LL rēptile, n. use of neut. of rēptilis creeping, equiv. to L rēpt(us) (ptp. of rēpere to creep) + -ilis -ile
1350–1400; ME reptil < LL rēptile, n. use of neut. of rēptilis creeping, equiv. to L rēpt(us) (ptp. of rēpere to creep) + -ilis -ile
Related forms:
rep⋅tile⋅like, adjective
rep⋅ti⋅loid [rep-tl-oid] , adjective
[rep-tl-oid] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To reptile
| rep·tile (rěp'tīl', -tĭl) n.
[Middle English reptil, from Old French reptile, from Late Latin rēptile, from neuter of Latin rēptilis, creeping, from rēptus, past participle of rēpere, to creep.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Reptile
Rep"tile\ (r?p"t?l;277), a. [F. reptile, L. reptilis, fr. repere, reptum, to creep; cf. Lith. reploti; perh. akin to L. serpere. Cf. Serpent.]1. Creeping; moving on the belly, or by means of small and short legs. 2. Hence: Groveling; low; vulgar; as, a reptile race or crew; reptile vices. There is also a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution, but of fear. --Burke. And dislodge their reptile souls From the bodies and forms of men. --Coleridge.Reptile
Rep"tile\, n. 1. (Zo["o]l.) An animal that crawls, or moves on its belly, as snakes,, or by means of small, short legs, as lizards, and the like. An inadvertent step may crush the snail That crawls at evening in the public path; But he that has humanity, forewarned, Will tread aside, and let the reptile live. --Cowper. 2. (Zo["o]l.) One of the Reptilia, or one of the Amphibia. Note: The amphibians were formerly classed with Reptilia, and are still popularly called reptiles, though much more closely allied to the fishes. 3. A groveling or very mean person.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : reptile
Spanish:
reptil,
German:
das Reptil,
Japanese:
は虫類
reptile
1390, from O.Fr. reptile (1314), from L.L. reptile, neut. of reptilis (adj.) "creping, crawling," from rept-(um), pp. stem of repere "to crawl, creep," from PIE base *rep- "to creep, crawl" (cf. Lith. replioju "to creep"). Used of persons of low character from 1749.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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| reptile (rěp'tīl') Pronunciation Key
Any of various cold-blooded vertebrates of the class Reptilia, having skin covered with scales or horny plates, breathing air with lungs, and usually having a three-chambered heart. Unlike amphibians, whose eggs are fertilized outside the female body, reptiles reproduce by eggs that are fertilized inside the female. Though once varied, widespread, and numerous, reptilian lineages, including the pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and dinosaurs, have mostly become extinct (though birds are living descendants of dinosaurs). The earliest reptiles were the cotylosaurs (or stem reptiles) of the late Mississippian or early Pennsylvanian Period, from which mammals evolved. Modern reptiles include crocodiles, snakes, turtles, and lizards. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
